In Japan, if one was going to see Tokyo Tower or Zozoji Temple, more than likely you saw the Shiba Daimon Gate (aka Zozoji Daimon).
The gate was the original main gate to Zozoji Temple but due to the anti-Buddhist movement during the Meiji restoration, Zojoji Temple’s land was confiscated, a public park was created and because maintenance of the four gates were problematic, they were donated to Tokyo prefecture.
Shibadaimon is a district in Minato, Tokyo and there is interesting history of the area.
Zozoji Temple is one of the most famous Buddhist Temples in Japan and was built in the 9th century (around 1598) and during the Edo era, the area was known as Shiba Katamon-mae, Shiba Nakamon-mae, Shiba Mishima-cho, etc.
But with the establishment of Tokyo prefecture in 1868, in 1878, Shiba Ward was established. But around 1947, Shiba Ward merged with Akasaka Ward and Azabu Ward to form Minato ward.
And Shiba still exists in district names such as Shibadaimon 1-chome and Shibadaimon 2-chome (since 1972).
Many people use this gate as a meeting place or a place to let people not familiar with the area to find Zojoji Temple and Tokyo Tower.
And in downtown Tokyo, Shiba Daimon Gate has existed. Zojoji Temple has requested for the Tokyo Metropolitan government to return the gate back to them since 1974 but the city said they couldn’t find records that Zozoji was the owners of the property.
But when the safety of the gate was brought to the attention of the city by locals as roof tiles were damaged during the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, government staff discovered that the original ownership was mistakenly removed and the property was transferred to the temple.
Prior to 2016, the Sendaimon Gate was a wooden Daimon gate was rebuilt in 1945 by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and had a reinforced-concrete gate due to the deterioration of the old Daimon. The structure was one of the few gates that survived during World War II during the air raids.
But the renovation was supervised by Isaka Michiko, an architectural historian and architect who studied the history of buildings of Zojoji Temple and Shiba Park. While construction was done by Fuji Komuten Co., Ltd., who had experience with temple architecture.
But the renovation was the first major renovation in 80 years for the gate.
Here are my photos from 2015-2016 before the renovations:
And now the gate looks like this:
When I saw the new painting, it was no doubt refreshing to see how Shiba Daimon gate popped and looks so beautiful.
And how it looks so close to Kawase Hasui’s paintings:
Great Gate at Shiba (1926, Woodblock Print).
Snow at Shiba Daimon by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)
It’s interesting to see the paintings of Kawase, because you can see when the gate was the main gate and had stones surrounding the area.
An interesting side note that the “Snow at Shiba Daimon” painting was discovered at a living estate from a prominent 103-year-old woman in Charlotte, North Carolina back in 1940.
While the artwork “Great Gate at Shiba” was a gift of Mr. and Mrs. Felix Juda to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
As for the gate, the temple has applied for the gate to be registered as a Cultural Property. But because the gate is over roads owned by Minato Ward, the owners are liable to pay local government fees. But if the gate is listed as a Cultural Property and becomes a Heritage Listing, the structure would be exempt from fees.
